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Course : EZ. Downhill to start! A hill at about 15K though…
This is an easy, beautiful (and popular) course. You take the bus to the start up at Shirogane Onsen and then you run 21K back to Biei. The entry deadline is early – around the start of April. It’s an easy one to miss! You should also aim to arrive early to get a good carpark…and to get through town easily. Leaving late is also a good idea as the main road can be really congested on the way out of town.

Lots of really nice and clean bathrooms at the sports ground in Biei. Not nearly so many at the start up at Shirogane Onsen…

The race starts at 11am and it can heat up. Today was about 25 degrees. The start is always very busy. Unless you are at the front, it usually takes a while to get going. The first drink station was also a madhouse! Everyone starts to spread out after that though.

I hadn’t done much training so I just cruised the whole race. The downhill section at the start is nice, but I made sure I taped my toes up so they didn’t get too jammed in the front of my shoes. However I got to the hill at about 15K and decided to grind up it with no walking (to make up for 2013…I walked it…it was really really hot). Got to the top, cruised down to the water station at 16K…then basically at 17K I hit the wall. It was warm today as well! And…yeah…there was that lack of training…

Dragged it to the end after that, but… first HM of the year. Good to get out for it!

Price : 2500 yen
Course : One out and back for the 10K. Up a hill. (Two for the HM. A grind!)

64回のなよろ憲法記念マラソン大会の10キロに参加しました。ちょっときついコースですが、ピヤシリスキー場を通るので楽しかったです！

It was a sunny, but windy day for my first “race” of the year. I did the 10K. Going up on the way out, down on the way back. Fortunately we had a tail wind on the way up to the ski area. Just a gentle climb, but kinda tough at the beginning of the season. Crazy head wind on the way back down. One stretch was a bit ridiculous!

The 10K had drink stations at 2.5, 5 and 7.5K for the 10K. They also had pacers. First time to see them in a Hokkaido race.